Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019: Lansing boys one victory from soccer three-peat

   Leading off today: Seniors Julian Tornusciolo and Aidan Burt scored first-half goals off corner kicks by defender Matt Weil to propel Lansing to a 4-0 victory over Keshequa on Saturday, putting the Bobcats within one victory of their third straight NYSPHSAA boys Class C soccer title in Middletown.

   Sam Panzer and Connor Watts each added a goal in the second half as Lansing advanced to Sunday's final vs. Rhinebeck.

   "It's great and everyone wants to get the three-peat, as we're calling it," Panzer said. "It's an opportunity to do something special and everybody is excited."

   Keshequa entered the game ranked fourth in the state and Lansing fourth.

   Meanwhile, another bid for a third straight title ended a game short of the final as Chazy fell to Mount Academy 2-1 in the Class D semifinals in what is fast becoming an annual series between the squads. They played to a 1-1 tie in the 2017 title game and Chazy was a 3-0 victory in last season's final.

   Mount Academy's Benson Arnold hit a post and Connor Huleatt blasted the rebound into the back of the net with 14:41 to go in the first half. Arnold tapped in a Matt Rimes cross just under five minutes into the second half.

   Chazy got a Joey deOndarza goal with 17:57 remaining in regulation but was unable to tack on an equalizer.

   "They were very big and physical," Chazy coach Rob McAuliffe said. "They are a very strong team, and we did the absolute best we possibly could in this game."

   Top-ranked squads stymied: Rye and Bath, ranked No. 1 in the state in Classes A and B, respectively, saw their seasons end in the semifinals.

   Jordan Miller scored two goals and Ari Kantorowitz had another to lead Jericho to a 3-0 win over Rye. The two scored a minute apart less than 10 minutes into the game and Jake Levy posted the shutout in goal to advance the Jayhawks to the final vs. Greece Athena.

   "That's been our M.O. the whole season," Miller said of the early offense. “When we start slow, it's always a tougher game. But when we score early, we score in bunches. It's what we do best."

   Bath was a 3-1 loser at the hands of Skaneateles in Class B. Sophomore forward Owen Cheney tallied twice in the second half and the Lakers won by more than a goal for the first time since the opening round of the Section 3 tournament.

   Bath had advantages of 11-4 in shots and 11-3 in corner kicks, but Cheney's goal with 4:54 to go was too much for the Rams to overcome.

   The Lakers are now one win away from capturing their first state title since 2010 and second overall.

   "We have the pieces and the recipe to make it happen," coach Aaron Moss said. "We tried to give them the best chance to be successful. The guys, they believe, so if they can handle it physically and dial back in tomorrow, it's anybody's game."

   Playing to a verdict: The last time Spencerport and Pearl River met in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association girls Class A soccer tournament, the teams played through regulation and four overtime periods before being declared co-champions.

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   This time, there needed to be a verdict after overtime ended in a scoreless tie, and Spencerport advanced on penalty kicks 4-2.

   "We try not to dwell on the past, so we didn't talk about it too much," Rangers goalkeeper Catt Wall said of the 2017 tie. "The girls who were on the team knew we were co-champs, and it was something that we wanted back this year."

   However, Wall and her teammates couldn't deny that the rematch had a more satisfying outcome.

   "Yes, it is, much better," Wall said after making 12 saves in the game and a pair of stops on penalty kicks.

   The Rangers return to Cortland on Sunday to play Shoreham-Wading River for a potential third state crown in four seasons.

   Defending champs alive: Monroe-Woodbury (Class AA) and Stillwater (C) won their semifinals to stay in the hunt for back-to-back championships.

   Monroe-Woodbury surrendered the first goal but rebounded to edge Clarence 2-1 on an Alexis DeLeo goal from 15 yards out with 1:43 remaining. The Section 9 champs had a goal nullified by offsides a little more than two minutes earlier.

   "These girls have a tremendous ability to get it back to another level," Crusaders coach Bill Mpasiakos said. "It was them playing their game."

   Clarence lost in the semifinals for the sixth consecutive season, with five of the setbacks by one-goal margins.

   In Class C, University of Albany commit Brooke Pickett scored her second goal of the game and 58th of the season late in the second half to give Stillwater a 3-2 win over Marion, and a chance at a second consecutive state Class C girls soccer championship.

   Abigail Marotta of Marion had tied the game with 8:50 left in the second half.

   "At that point, I had a feeling if we had a good scoring opportunity, we'd capitalize," Stillwater coach Christine Ihnatolya said. "They did it."

   Pickett upped her career total to 208 goals in a head-to-head duel with Marion star Chloe DeLyser. DeLyser scored the game's first goal to end with 76 tallies for the season and 336 in her career.

   "She is an unbelievable player, and Kara Moran did an excellent job on her," Ihnatolya said. "With support, we put a lot of pressure on her. In all of our postseason games, we've had her (Moran) man-mark a top threat."